Optical cable connector

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and devices are disclosed for interconnecting two optical fibers using a protective insert, wherein the protective insert includes a connective segment that provides optical communication connection between the two optical fibers. Furthermore the protective insert includes two attachment mechanisms adjacent to the connective segment with each of the two attachment mechanisms adapted to removably attach one of the two optical fibers to the connective segment. Such a protective insert may be implemented inside a network interface device (NID) or with a wall-plate to be installed inside customer premises in a manner that allows a customer to easily interconnect a home network cable to an optical network terminal.

Embodiments of the invention are related to telecommunication servicesand, in particular, to fiber optics communication networks.

BACKGROUND

As information based industries constitute an ever growing part ofnational economies in many developed as well as developing countries,telecommunication networks have become an essential part of nationalinfrastructure. Especially in developed economies, industries as well associeties are highly dependent on faster and easier access toinformation, entertainment, and education via the telecommunicationsnetworks. Optical fiber communication networks are among the fastestgrowing and very important part of communication networks that allowtelecommunication companies to meet the ever growing need for moreinformation, at faster speeds, by the consumers.

In a typical communication network providing services to consumers, atelecommunication service company may have a fiber optic cable installedat an end consumer's premises, where the end consumer may be a singleresidential unit, a multi-residence unit, a business, etc. Such anarrangement is often referred to as the fiber to the premises (FTTP). Atypical FTTP is implemented by means of an optical network termination(ONT) device mounted on the exterior of the customer premises.Typically, the telecommunication service companies connect an opticalcable to a network interface device (NID) installed outside thecustomer's premises wherein the NID hosts the ONT. However, a NID thatis installed outside of a customer's premises is generally considered tobe the property of the service provider, and therefore, the serviceprovider becomes responsible for not only the cost of the NID but alsothe maintenance of the NID. When an NID is located outside of acustomer's premises, it is exposed to weather elements such as rain,snow, cold, sun, heat, etc., and often the NID can require high levelsof environment control, incurring high maintenance costs.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example implementation of a telecommunicationsnetwork 10 using the FTTP service. The telecommunications network 10 mayinclude an optical communications equipment (OCE) such as an opticalline terminal (OLT) 12 that may be used to interconnect with one or morenetworks. Such networks may include the Internet 14, a public switchedtelephone network 16, and other networks 18, such as a wireless network,a satellite network, etc. The OLT 12 may be connected to such one ormore networks 14-18 using fiber optic cables 20.

The OLT 12 may be located at the central office (CO) of atelecommunication company or at the head-end of a cable company. The OLT12 may be used to generate synchronous optical networking (SONET), densewavelength digital multiplexing (DWDM), or other signals appropriate forcommunication over fiber optics and communicate such signals over tooptical network units (ONU) 22, to optical termination equipment such asoptical network terminals (ONT) 24, to a splitter 26, etc.Alternatively, the OLT 12 may receive such signals from various networks14-16 via the fiber optics 20 and route such signals over to the ONUs22, the ONT 24, and the splitter 26.

The ONUs 22 are used to provide optical to electrical and electrical tooptical conversion in a “fiber to the curb” (FTTC) or “fiber to theneighborhood” (FTTN) scenario. On the other hand, the ONTs 24 are usedto terminate a fiber optic line, to de-multiplex the signal into itscomponent parts (voice telephone, television, Internet, etc.), and toprovide power to customer telephones. The output from the ONTs 24 may befed into network interface devices (NIDs) 30 that are used to provideconnectivity to a home based network 32, an office based network 34,etc.

It is important to ensure that the communicative interconnectionsprovided by the NIDs 30 are robust as well as properly insulated frominterferences. Generally, NIDs 30 may be implemented to host a number ofdifferent communicative paths, such as an optical cable connection, aDSL cable connection, etc. Any bad interconnection at the NIDs 30 maycause signal interference from one or more of such interconnections tothe other interconnections. Moreover, the NIDs 30 may also be connectedto a power supply and any faulty interconnections may expose the NIDs30, as well as the premises where the NIDs 30 are located, to potentialhazards caused by improper connection of power lines to one or moredevices in the NIDs 30. Such potential problems with NIDs 30 areexaggerated by the fact that NIDs 30 located outside the premises maybecome exposed to various environmental conditions, such as rain,temperature swings, etc. Especially when the NIDs 30 are hosting anytype of optical cables or optical interconnecting devices, it isnecessary that such environmental effects are sufficiently controlled.

As discussed above, under this example implementation of thetelecommunications network 10 and where any NID is located outside thecustomer's premises, the NID and the ONT are considered to be theproperty of the telecommunications service provider. As a result, theservice provider generally becomes responsible for the upkeep andmaintenance of the NID and ONT. Such maintenance may become expensive,especially when the equipment is subjected to harsh weather conditions.Therefore there is a need for a solution that allows atelecommunications service provider to reliably manage the equipmentinstalled outside of the customer premises.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Among other things, embodiments of the present invention includemethods, systems, and devices for providing telecommunication services.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a protective insert forinterconnecting a first optical fiber with a second optical fiber,wherein the protective insert includes an optically connective segment,a first attachment mechanism adjacent to a first end of the opticallyconnective segment and adapted to removably attach to the first opticalfiber, a second attachment mechanism adjacent to a second end of theoptically connective segment and adapted to removably attach to thesecond optical fiber, and a protective cover surrounding the opticallyconnective segment, the first attachment mechanism, and the secondattachment mechanism. In an alternate embodiment, the first attachmentmechanism of the protective insert includes a signaling mechanism toprovide a signal to a user regarding the status of the connection of theoptically connective segment with the first optical fiber.

Another embodiment of the invention provides an optical networkinterface device (NID) including a protective insert as describedherein, an optical network terminal (ONT) communicatively connected tothe protective insert, and a customer premises node communicativelyconnected to the ONT.

An alternate embodiment of the invention provides a system forinterconnecting a customer premises network with an optical lineterminal (OLT), the system including: a wall-plate located on thecustomer premises having an optical fiber input node, a protectiveinsert as described herein, wherein the protective insert is adapted tocommunicatively connect to the optical fiber input node, a first opticalfiber communicatively connecting the optical fiber input node to theOLT, and an optical network terminal (ONT) attached to the wall-plateand having a first end terminal and a second end terminal, wherein thefirst end terminal is communicatively connected to the protective insertand the second end terminal is communicatively connected to the customerpremises network.

Yet another alternate embodiment of the invention provides a system forinterconnecting a first customer premises and a second customer premiseswith an optical line terminal (OLT), the system including an opticalsplitter communicatively connected to the OLT and having an inputterminal, a first output terminal and a second output terminal, whereinthe optical splitter is adapted to split an input optical signalreceived at the input terminal into a first optical output signal outputat the first output terminal and a second optical output signal outputat the second output terminal, a first protective insert as describedherein, wherein the first protective insert communicatively connects thefirst consumer premises to the first output terminal, and a secondprotective insert as described herein, wherein the second protectiveinsert communicatively connects the second consumer premises to thesecond output terminal.

An alternate embodiment of the invention provides a method ofinterconnecting an optical termination equipment located at a customerpremises with an optical communications equipment on atelecommunications network, the method including communicativelyconnecting the optical communications equipment to an input node of anoptical network interface device (NID), the NID including the inputnode, and a protective insert communicatively connected to the opticaltermination equipment, the protective insert comprising an opticallyconnective segment, a first attachment mechanism adjacent to a first endof the optically connective segment and adapted to removably attach tothe first optical fiber, a second attachment mechanism adjacent to asecond end of the optically connective segment and adapted to removablyattach to the second optical fiber, and a protective cover surroundingthe optically connective segment, the first attachment mechanism, andthe second attachment mechanism; communicatively connecting the inputnode of the NID to the first end of the optically connective segment;communicatively connecting the second end of the optically connectivesegment to the customer premises node, and communicatively connecting aninput node of the optical termination equipment to the customer premisesnode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention may be realized by reference to the figures, which aredescribed in the remaining portion of the specification. In the figures,like reference numerals are used throughout several figures to refer tosimilar components. In some instances, a reference numeral may have anassociated sub-label consisting of a lower-case letter to denote one ofmultiple similar components. When reference is made to a referencenumeral without specification of a sub-label, the reference is intendedto refer to all such multiple similar components.

FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram of a traditional telecommunicationnetwork.

FIG. 2A shows a simplified diagram of one embodiment of a protectiveinsert.

FIG. 2B shows a simplified diagram of an alternate embodiment of aprotective insert.

FIG. 3 shows a simplified diagram illustrating use of the protectiveinsert of FIG. 2A in a telecommunication network.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified diagram illustrating use of an alternativeembodiment of a protective insert.

FIG. 5 shows an example configuration of a telecommunications networkusing a protective insert;

FIG. 6A shows an alternate example configuration of a telecommunicationsnetwork using a protective insert.

FIG. 6B shows an alternate example configuration of a telecommunicationsnetwork using a protective insert.

FIG. 7 shows an alternate example configuration of a telecommunicationsnetwork using a protective insert.

FIG. 8 shows an alternate example configuration of a telecommunicationsnetwork using a protective insert.

FIG. 9 shows an alternate example configuration of a telecommunicationsnetwork using a protective insert.

FIG. 10 shows a method of interconnecting an optical communicationequipment with an optical termination equipment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There are various configurations and embodiments that may be used toimplement the present invention. In the following description, for thepurposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Forexample, while various features are ascribed to particular embodiments,it should be appreciated that the features described with respect to oneembodiment may be incorporated with other embodiments as well. By thesame token, however, no single feature or features of any describedembodiment should be considered essential to the invention, as otherembodiments of the invention may omit such features. Further, whilevarious embodiments may be described with reference to the Internet,embodiments of the invention may be implemented in anytelecommunications network.

As disclosed below in further detail, the system and method describedherein allow the provision of an optical fiber connection into acustomer's premises and ensure that any interfacing equipment is locatedinside the customer premises. In such an arrangement, the customer maybecome responsible for purchasing, setting up, and maintaining anynetwork interface equipment that may be necessary for interconnectingthe customer's home network with the optical fiber connection from theservice provider. However, under this arrangement, as the customerbecomes responsible for making the appropriate connections, it becomesmore likely that customers may damage optical fiber connectors. This isespecially true because optical connectors typically are notsufficiently rugged to permit untrained people to fasten and removeoptical connectors multiple times without potentially damaging networkfiber. Once an end of a network fiber is damaged, it is often likelythat the service on that fiber will be impaired and a service dispatchis required to reconnect and polish the end of the optical fiber. Thisbecomes expensive, inconvenient, and time-consuming for both the endcustomer and the service provider. The system and method disclosedherein provide a solution that allows an untrained customer to connectan optical network fiber to a customer premises equipment, withoutintervention from the service provider. Unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise, as used herein, the term “connect,” means to placeinto communication (e.g., optical communication, electricalcommunication, etc.) the two elements being connected, for example, sothat signals (optical, electrical) may be passed unidirectionally and/orbidirectionally from one element to the other. This functionality mayinclude, but need not necessarily include, physically coupling the twoelements, securing such a physical coupling, and/or the like. Similarly,two elements that are said to be “connected” are in communication withone another to allow signals to pass from one element to the other, anda “connection” between two elements means that the two elements are incommunication with one another

FIG. 2A illustrates a simplified diagram of one embodiment of aprotective insert 50. The protective insert 50 illustrated in FIG. 2Aincludes a body 52, an optical connecting segment (such as, for example,a protective insert fiber optic) 54, a first attachment mechanism 56,and a second attachment mechanism 58. The first attachment mechanism 56may be a housing defining a first opening and the second attachmentmechanism 58 may be a housing defining a second opening. The body 52,also referred to as a protective cover, of the protective insert 50 maybe made of any of a number of different materials that may be used tohouse fiber optic cables in a secure condition and it acts as aprotective cover for the optical connecting segment 54, the firstattachment mechanism 56, and the second attachment mechanism 58.Preferably the material used for the body 52 of the protective insert50, especially when the protective insert 50 is to be used outside, mayuse material that insulates the optic from harsh environment factors andultraviolet (UV) radiation. Such materials include polyvinylchloride(PVC), polyethylene (PE), Kevlar, etc.

The optical connecting segment 54 may be made of any of the generallyused fiber optics that is designed to convey information from one end tothe other end in optical format. Generally, fiber optics are made ofglass or plastic fiber that transmits light along its length. Glassoptical fibers are generally made from silica, but some other materials,such as fluorozirconate, fluoroaluminate, and chalcogenide glasses, mayalso be used for longer-wavelength infrared applications. Plasticoptical fibers are commonly step-index multi-mode fibers that typicallyhave higher attenuation co-efficients than glass fibers. As one of skillin the art will appreciate, the optical connecting segment 54 may bemade of any such material described above or any other alternatecomparable material.

The optical connecting segment 54 has open communicative surfaces on itstwo ends where a first end 60 is open to the first attachment mechanism56 and a second end 62 is open to the second attachment mechanism 58. Inan embodiment, the open surfaces of the first end 60 and the second end62 may be beveled to reduce reflections. In an implementation of theprotective insert 50, the optical connecting segment 54 is designed in amanner so as to be bi-directionally communicative. However, in alternateembodiments, the optical connecting segment 54 may be communicative inonly one direction. Moreover, in another embodiment, the protectiveinsert 50 may have the first end 60 and the second end 62 polished in amanner so as to give them typical end curvature so that they can beeasily communicatively connected to other fibers with minimal loss insignal power. For example, in an alternate embodiment, the first end 60and the second end 62 may be flush or appropriately shaped to improvethe performance of the protective insert 50.

The first attachment mechanism 56 and the second attachment mechanism 58are designed in a manner so as to removably attach an optical fiber or afiber optic cable. For example, these attachment mechanisms may beprovided with screw-in threads on its inner surface so that a fiberoptic cable with compatible screw-on threads on its outer surface may bescrewed into these attachment mechanisms. Alternatively, the firstattachment mechanism 56 and the second attachment mechanism 58 maydesigned to attach fiber optic cables via a push-and-click mechanism,via a turn-and-latch mechanism, etc. The lengths of the first attachmentmechanism 56 and the second attachment mechanism 58 may be designed in amanner so that when a fiber optic cable is removably attached to theprotective insert 50 on either end, the optical fiber in such cable iscommunicatively connected to the optical connecting segment 54 withoutdamaging to the surface of the optical connecting segment 54.Alternatively, the first attachment mechanism 56 and the secondattachment mechanism 58 may be provided with tapered inner surfaces 60and 62 so that an optical fiber cable inserted into these attachmentmechanisms cannot reach a depth where it may damage the first surface 60and the second surface 62.

FIG. 2B shows a simplified diagram of an alternate embodiment of aprotective insert 80. The protective insert 80, includes all of thecomponents 52-66 of the protective insert 50 as illustrated in FIG. 2A.Additionally, the protective insert 80 provides for a signalingmechanism 82 that provides a user of the protective insert 80 with asignal when an optical cable or other communicative apparatus iscommunicatively connected to the optical connecting segment 54. Forexample, FIG. 2B illustrates an optical cable plug 84 that may becommunicatively connected to the protective insert 80.

The signaling mechanism 82 includes a power source 86, a signalingdevice 88 and a circuit 90 that connects the power source 86 to thesignaling device 88. The signaling device 88 can be any commonly knownsource of signal such as a light emitting diode (LED), a light bulb, adevice generating an audible signal, etc Alternatively, the signalingmechanism 82 may also include a wireless signal generator 89 thattransmits a wireless signal to a central network if there is anypotential problem, such as a loss of connection, etc., (and/or when asolid connection exists). The circuit 90 is designed so as to form apartial circuit that is not complete by itself. The circuit ends(terminals) 92 and 94 of the circuit 90 may be designed in a manner sothat when the optical cable plug 84 is inserted into the protectiveinsert 80, the circuit 90 is completed by a conductive connector 96located in the optical cable plug 80. Moreover, the position of thecircuit ends 92 and 94 and the position of the connector 96 may bedesigned so that when the circuit 90 is completed at the optimalposition where the optical connecting segment 54 is communicativelyconnected to an optical cable plug connector 98. In an embodiment of theprotective insert 80, the circuit 90 and the connector 96 are designedin a manner so that the optical connecting segment 54 is communicativelyconnected to the optical cable plug connector 98 without causing anydamage to either of the optical connecting segment 54 and the opticalcable plug connector 98. In an embodiment of the protective insert 80,the wireless signal generator 89 of the signaling mechanism 82 may senda signal to a central network when the optical cable plug 84 issuccessfully connected to the optical connecting segment 54.

The protective insert 80 allows a user to communicatively connect theoptical cable plug 84 or other similar communicative apparatus to oneend of the protective insert 80 without causing any damage to theoptical connecting segment 54. In an embodiment of the protective insert80, the signaling mechanism 82 may be implemented on each end of theprotective insert 80. In an alternate embodiment, the signalingmechanism 82 may have a timer included within the circuit 90 so thatonce the optical cable plug 94 is communicatively connected to theoptical connecting segment 54, after a pre-determined time period, thesignaling device 88 is automatically turned off.

FIG. 3 shows a simplified diagram illustrating an example use of theprotective insert 50 of FIG. 2A in a telecommunication network. In thediagram illustrated in FIG. 3, the protective insert 50 is used tocommunicatively connect an optical cable 100 with another optical cable102. In an example implementation, the optical cable 100 may be part ofan optical cable plug that may be connected on its first end 104 to anONT, such as the ONT 24 disclosed in FIG. 1. In an alternate embodiment,the optical cable 100 may be an integrated part of an ONT itself. Theoptical cable 102 may be part of an optical fiber provided by atelecommunications service provider that provides a connection to an OLTvia its first end 106. Alternatively, the optical cable 102 may beconnected via its first end 106 to an ONU such as the ONU 22 illustratedin FIG. 1 or to an optical splitter such as an optical splitter 26illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified diagram illustrating an example use of analternative embodiment of a protective insert 110. The protective insert110 is similar to the protective insert 50 in the sense that theprotective insert 110 includes the body 52, the optical connectingsegment 54, and a first attachment mechanism 56. Additionally theprotective insert 110 also includes a first male connector 112 includingone end of the optical connecting segment 54. The first male connector112 may be designed so that it may be removably and communicativelyconnected to a female connector 114 of an optical cable 106. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, the protective insert 110 may be used tocommunicatively connect an optical cable 116 to an optical cable plug118. In an alternate embodiment of the protective insert 110, asignaling mechanism such as the signaling mechanism 82 may beincorporated in one end of the protective insert 110.

FIG. 5 shows an example configuration of a telecommunications networkusing a protective insert such as the protective inserts 50, 80, and110. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 5 provides for using theprotective insert 50 inside a network interface device (NID) 120. TheNID 120 may be installed outside a customer premises 122 in a manner sothat the NID 120 provides communication between optical cable 124 from atelecommunications service provider and customer premises cable 126connecting to an ONT 128 located inside the customer premises 122. Theoptical cable 124 may be connected to an OLT 130 such as the OLT 12illustrated in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the optical cable 124 may also beconnected to an ONU such as the ONU 22 or a splitter such as thesplitter 26.

Providing the NID 120 with the protective insert 50 allows a user toeasily connect the incoming optical cable 124 with the customer premisecable 126. In an alternate embodiment, more than one protective inserts50 may be used in the NID 120. Because the protective insert 50 isadapted to removably connect two optical fibers, in such an alternativeembodiment, if there are more than one incoming cables into the NID 120to be connected to more than one outgoing cables, a user may just usesuch multiple protective inserts 50 to facilitate such connectionswithout having to make any permanent change to the NID 120. In analternate embodiment, the protective insert 50 may be implemented in theNID 120 so that one incoming optical cable 124 is communicativelyconnected to a plurality of outgoing cables, such as customer premisecables 126, 126 a, 126 b connecting to the ONTs 128, 128 a, 128 b, etc.(the cables 126 a, 126 b and the ONTs 128 a, 128 b, are not shownherein).

FIG. 6A shows an alternate example configuration of a telecommunicationsnetwork using a protective insert such as the protective inserts 50, 80,and 110. In the configuration disclosed in FIG. 6A, the protectiveinsert 50 may be located within a NID 140. Additionally, the NID 140 mayalso include an ONT 142. In this configuration, the protective insert 50may be used to communicatively and removably connect an incoming opticalcable 144 with the ONT 142. The optical cable 144 may be used to carrybi-directional or uni-directional communication from the ONT 142 to anOLT 146 or to an ONU such as the ONU 22 or a splitter such as thesplitter 26. Providing the NID 140 with the protective insert 50 allowsa user to easily connect the optical cable 144 with the ONT 142 withoutdamaging the connective end of the ONT 142.

FIG. 6B shows an alternate example configuration of a telecommunicationsnetwork using a protective insert such as the protective inserts 50, 80,and 110. In the configuration disclosed in FIG. 6B, the protectiveinsert 50 may be located within a NID 150. Additionally, the NID 150 mayalso include an ONT 152 and an output terminal 154 (such as a customerpremises node) for an electrical connection. In this configuration, theprotective insert 50 may be used to communicatively and removablyconnect an incoming optical cable 156 with the ONT 152. The opticalcable 156 may be used to carry bi-directional or uni-directionalcommunication from the ONT 152 to an OLT 158 or to an ONU such as theONU 22 or a splitter such as the splitter 26. The output terminal 154may be an industry standard output terminal such as an RJ-45 plugterminal that can communicatively connect to an RJ-45 cable. Providingthe NID 150 with the protective insert 50 allows a user to easilyconnect the optical cable 156 with the ONT 152 without damaging theconnective end of the ONT 152. Moreover, providing the NID 150 with theoutput terminal 154 allows a user to easily connect a home network 160to the NID 150.

FIG. 7 shows an alternate example configuration of a telecommunicationsnetwork using a protective insert such as the protective inserts 50, 80,and 110. In the configuration disclosed in FIG. 7, the protective insert50 may be used on or in a wall plate 170 to communicatively connect anoptical cable 172 with an ONT 174. The wall plate 170 may be locatedinside a customer premises 176. In this configuration, the protectiveinsert 50 may be removably attached to the wall plate 170 or it may beused as a loose connector between the optical cable 172 and the ONT 174.

In the configuration illustrated in FIG. 7, the wall plate 170, the ONT174 and the protective insert 50 are all located within the customerpremises 176. As a result, the maintenance and upkeep of thesecomponents may become the responsibility of the customer. Providing theprotective insert 50 allows a customer to easily connect the ONT 174with the optical cable 172 without causing any damage to the opticalfibers in the ONT 174 and the optical cable 172. Moreover, if there isany damage to the protective insert 50 due to carelessness or lack ofskill on the part of the consumer, instead of having to send atechnician to fix the ONT 174, a telecommunication service provider maysimply mail another protective insert 50 to the customer forreplacement. Thus, providing the protective insert 50 with the wallplate 170 allows a telecommunication service provider to providereliable and more efficient installation and maintenance service to thecustomer.

Additionally, if it becomes necessary for the customer to move the ONT174 from one room to another more convenient location, the customer maybe able to simply use a flexible optical cable (as available) withprotective inserts 50 on both ends for moving the ONT 174 from onelocation to another.

FIG. 8 shows an alternate example configuration of a telecommunicationsnetwork using a protective insert such as the protective inserts 50, 80,and 110. In this configuration of the network, protective inserts 50 areused to connect fiber optic cables 180 coming out of a splitter 182 tofiber optic cables 184. Providing protective inserts 50 allowsconnecting the cables 180 and 184 without damaging the connective endsof the cables 180 and 184. Moreover, because the protective inserts 50are relatively easy to use, as compared to establishing permanentconnections between the cables 180 and 184 for example, a relativelyunskilled technician or user can establish such a communication withoutrequiring the expensive training or equipment that is typicallynecessary to permanently connect the cables 180 and 184.

FIG. 9 shows an alternate example configuration for using a protectiveinsert such as the protective inserts 50, 80, and 110. In thisconfiguration, the protective insert 50 may be used to communicativelyand removably connect an optical cable 190 with an optical cable 192. Insome embodiments, the configuration illustrated in FIG. 9 may be used toreplace a damaged portion of an optical cable, to patch a cut cable,and/or the like. In alternate embodiments, the configuration illustratedin FIG. 9 may be used to connect a plurality of incoming cables with aplurality of outgoing cables so that if it becomes necessary to changethe combination of incoming and outgoing cables, such changes can beperformed without having to alter permanent connections between thecables.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements to allof the systems other embodiments described above. The protective insert20 may be located at many of the various locations on thetelecommunication network 10, even if such an implementation is notdescribed herein. By way of example, the protective insert 50 may beused to connect the OLT 12 to the splitter 26, or to connect thesplitter 26 to the ONU 22, etc.

Turning now to FIG. 10, a flowchart 200 illustrates a method ofinterconnecting an optical termination equipment (OTE) located at acustomer premises with an optical communication equipment (OCE) on atelecommunications network. As shown in FIG. 10, at 202, the OCE iscommunicatively connected to an input node of an optical NID, such as aNID described above in FIGS. 5, 6A, and 6B. Subsequently, at 204, theinput node of the NID is communicatively connected to the first end ofthe optically connective segment of a protective insert. At 206, thesecond end of the optically connective segment of the protective insertis communicatively connected to a customer premise node. Finally, at208, the customer premise node is communicatively connected to an inputnode of the optical termination equipment, such as an ONT that may belocated at a customer premises.

While the invention has been described with respect to exampleembodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerousmodifications are possible. Further, while various systems describedherein may be described with respect to particular structural and/orfunctional components for ease of description, systems are not limitedto any particular structural and/or functional architecture but insteadcan be implemented on any suitable hardware and/or firmwareconfigurations. Similarly, while various functionalities are ascribed tocertain system components, unless the context dictates otherwise, thisfunctionality can be distributed among various other system componentsin accordance with different embodiments of the invention.

Moreover, while the procedures comprised in the methods and processesdescribed herein are described in a particular order for ease ofdescription, unless the context dictates otherwise, various proceduresmay be reordered, added, and/or omitted in accordance with variousembodiments of the invention. Moreover, the procedures described withrespect to one method or process may be incorporated within otherdescribed methods or processes; likewise, system components describedaccording to a particular structural architecture and/or with respect toone system may be organized in alternative structural architecturesand/or incorporated within other described systems. Hence, while variousembodiments are described with—or without—certain features for ease ofdescription and to illustrate example features, the various componentsand/or features described herein with respect to a particular embodimentcan be substituted, added, and/or subtracted from among other describedembodiments, unless the context dictates otherwise. Consequently,although the invention has been described with respect to exampleembodiments, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended tocover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A protective insert for interconnecting a firstoptical transmission medium with a second optical transmission medium,the protective insert comprising: an optically connective segment; afirst attachment mechanism adjacent to a first end of the opticallyconnective segment and adapted to removably attach to the first opticaltransmission medium; a second attachment mechanism adjacent to a secondend of the optically connective segment and adapted to removably attachto the second optical transmission medium, wherein at least one of theattachment mechanisms further includes a signaling mechanism to providea signal to a user regarding the connection of the optically connectivesegment with the first optical transmission medium; and a protectivecover surrounding the optically connective segment, the first attachmentmechanism, and the second attachment mechanism.
 2. The protective insertof claim 1, wherein the optically connective segment comprises anoptical transmission medium.
 3. The protective insert of claim 1,wherein at least one of the attachment mechanisms is adapted toremovably attach to the first optical transmission medium using ascrew-thread mechanism.
 4. The protective insert of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the attachment mechanisms is adapted to removably attach tothe first optical transmission medium using a push-to-connect mechanism.5. The protective insert of claim 1, wherein the signaling mechanism isadapted to send a wireless signal to the user.
 6. An optical networkinterface device (NID) comprising: a protective insert forinterconnecting a first optical transmission medium with a secondoptical transmission medium, the apparatus comprising: an opticallyconnective segment; a first attachment mechanism adjacent to a first endof the optically connective segment and adapted to removably attach tothe first optical transmission medium; a second attachment mechanismadjacent to a second end of the optically connective segment and adaptedto removably attach to the second optical transmission medium; aprotective cover surrounding the optically connective segment, the firstattachment mechanism, and the second attachment mechanism; wherein thefirst optical transmission medium is communicatively connected to acustomer premises node and the second optical transmission medium iscommunicatively connected to an optical communications equipment on atelecommunication network.
 7. The NID of claim 6, wherein the opticalcommunications equipment is an optical line terminal (OLT).
 8. The NIDof claim 7, wherein the customer premises node is communicativelyconnected to an optical termination equipment located on a customerpremises.
 9. The NID of claim 8, wherein the optical terminationequipment is an optical network terminal (ONT).
 10. The NID of claim 9,wherein the ONT is a passive ONT.
 11. An optical network interfacedevice (NID), the NID comprising: a protective insert forinterconnecting a first optical transmission medium with a secondoptical transmission medium, the protective insert comprising: anoptically connective segment; a first attachment mechanism adjacent to afirst end of the optically connective segment and adapted to removablyattach to the first optical transmission medium; a second attachmentmechanism adjacent to a second end of the optically connective segmentand adapted to removably attach to the second optical transmissionmedium; and a protective cover surrounding the optically connectivesegment, the first attachment mechanism, and the second attachmentmechanism; an optical network terminal (ONT) communicatively connectedto the first attachment mechanism of the protective insert; and acustomer premises node communicatively connected to the ONT.
 12. Theoptical NID of claim 11, wherein the second attachment mechanism of theprotective insert is communicatively connected to an OLT.
 13. Theoptical NID of claim 11, wherein the ONT is a passive ONT.
 14. A systemfor interconnecting a customer premises network with an opticalcommunications equipment (OCE), the system comprising: a wall-platelocated at the customer premises having an optical fiber input node: afirst optical fiber communicatively connecting the optical fiber inputnode to the OCE; a protective insert comprising: an optically connectivesegment; a first attachment mechanism adjacent to a first end of theoptically connective segment and adapted to removably attach to theoptical fiber input node; a second attachment mechanism adjacent to asecond end of the optically connective segment; and a protective coversurrounding the optically connective segment, the first attachmentmechanism, and the second attachment mechanism; and an optical networkterminal (ONT) attached to the wall-plate and having a first endterminal and a second end terminal, wherein the first end terminal iscommunicatively connected to the second attachment mechanism of theprotective insert and the second end terminal is communicativelyconnected to the customer premises network.
 15. The system as recited inclaim 14, wherein the ONT is a passive ONT.
 16. The system as recited inclaim 14, wherein the optical fiber input node it communicativelyconnected to the OCE via an optical splitter.
 17. The system as recitedin claim 14, wherein the second end terminal of the ONT is attached tothe customer premises network via an RJ-45 cable socket.
 18. A systemfor interconnecting a first customer premises and a second customerpremises with an optical line terminal (OLT), the system comprising: afirst protective insert and a second protective insert, each of thefirst protective insert and the second protective insert comprising: anoptically connective segment, a first attachment mechanism adjacent to afirst end of the optically connective segment and adapted to removablyattach to a first optical transmission medium, a second attachmentmechanism adjacent to a second end of the optically connective segmentand adapted to removably attach to a second optical transmission medium,and a protective cover surrounding the optically connective segment, thefirst attachment mechanism, and the second attachment mechanism; anoptical splitter communicatively connected to the OLT and having aninput terminal, a first output terminal and a second output terminal,wherein the optical splitter is adapted to split an input optical signalreceived at the input terminal into a first optical output signal outputat the first output terminal and a second optical output signal outputat the second output terminal; the first protective insertcommunicatively connecting the first consumer premises to the firstoutput terminal; and the second protective insert communicativelyconnecting the second consumer premises to the second output terminal.19. The system as recited in claim 18, wherein the first protectiveinsert communicatively connects the first consumer premises to the firstoutput terminal via a first optical network terminal (ONT) and thesecond protective insert communicatively connects the second consumerpremises to the second output terminal via a second ONT.
 20. The systemas recited in claim 19, wherein the first ONT is a passive ONT and thesecond ONT is a passive ONT.
 21. A system of interconnecting an opticalline terminal (OLT) and a customer premises network, the systemcomprising: an optical network interface device (NID) including aprotective insert, a NID input node, a NID output node; and an opticalnetwork terminal (ONT); wherein the OLT is communicatively connected tothe NID input node, the NID input node is communicatively connected viathe protective insert to the ONT, the ONT is communicatively connectedto the NID output node, and the NID output node is communicativelyconnected to the customer premises network; wherein the protectiveinsert comprises: an optically connective segment; a first attachmentmechanism adjacent to a first end of the optically connective segmentand adapted to removably attach to the NID input node; a secondattachment mechanism adjacent to a second end of the opticallyconnective segment and adapted to removably attach to the ONT; and aprotective cover surrounding the optically connective segment, the firstattachment mechanism and the second attachment mechanism.
 22. The systemof claim 21, wherein the ONT is a passive ONT.
 23. The system of claim21, wherein the NID output node is an RJ-45 node.
 24. The system ofclaim 21, wherein the optically connective segment comprises an opticalfiber.